16. Wesley
CHAPTER 16
WESLEY
A ll while Wesley was doing the job he’d originally expected to be doing — guarding Anne Bartlett — he wished he was watching over Lauren instead. He’d been standing at the back door of Senator Bartlett’s office, his eyes on the alley but his mind far away, when one of his colleagues found him.
“We need to be on extra alert, Pierce,” he said to Wesley. “We’ve got a real threat this time.”
Wesley straightened from his partial slouch. “What’s that?”
“Tangible plans from the group in question. The FBI warned us. They got hold of a partial plan by having one of their agents infiltrate the online group that’s been acting suspicious. Unfortunately, the group is careful enough not to give away their identities or location. But we do know something’s going down. Possibly today. Get ready, and keep your eyes peeled.”
It took Wesley a moment to rule out that his coworkers were planning some kind of elaborate prank. The idea of a real threat seemed unthinkable, even though it shouldn’t have been. He worked in security. What did he think he would be doing? But somewhere in the back of his mind, he’d assumed he would not be using his military skills at all, that he’d be bored more than anything. It just seemed so incredibly unlikely that anyone would go so far to harm a senator. But apparently, Anne Bartlett wasn’t your average senator because she’d managed to piss off a relatively new and dangerous group of extremists. And they were prepared to take action.
“Any indication where they’ll be coming from or how they’ll try to get inside the building?” Wesley asked.
His colleague sighed and shook his head. “If they’re smart, they’ll come in right through the front like the senator’s daughter did. Senator Bartlett didn’t want to see her, told her assistant not to allow her into the office, but the woman waltzed right through like the word no meant nothing to her.” He shrugged. “So I guess that’s all it takes. Just walk in. That’s why I’m warning you all personally. Keep your eyes peeled because no one else here is.”
But the second his colleague had mentioned the senator’s daughter , Wesley’s mind had gone fully one-track. “Lauren’s here?” he said.
“Didn’t I just say she was? Yeah, I think she’s still out front waiting for a ride. She’d better get one quick because?—”
“Watch my post!” Wesley shouted back at his colleague. He was already running for his car. Lauren could not be sitting outside her mom’s office today. Not if there was any chance she could be hurt. And if she was out there alone, waiting for a ride, that meant her new bodyguard was not with her.
He jumped in his car, started the engine, and spun the vehicle around to hightail it out of the parking garage. He peeled around the block, never minding the traffic around him, barely stopping at the stop signs. When he rounded the front of the building, he slowed his car down to see who stood out front. A familiar figure caught his eye. It was Lauren.
He pulled up in front of her and unlocked the door. Then he reached across the passenger seat and opened it wide. “Get in,” he commanded her. There wasn’t any time to ask nicely. And if he did, she might choose not to go with him. She might not really trust him, and that thought ate away at him. Had he really lost her trust completely? To the point where he had to bark orders at her in order to get her to hear him at all.
He gave her his cursory explanation, but he could tell it wasn’t good enough. “We’re going to my place,” he said. “Yours isn’t safe. They probably know where you live.”
She glanced over at him, and he could so easily read the worry in her face. “Who exactly are they ?” she asked.
There was no satisfying way to answer her. “Extremists. They’ve been gearing up on the dark web for some time, but there’s at least one credible source that says they’re planning to act today.”
Lauren sat ramrod straight when she heard that. “My mom?”
Wesley added a little more weight to the accelerator. “We can’t say for sure who the target will be, but your mother is well protected. You, on the other hand, appear not to be. Where’s your bodyguard?”
She gulped, and her face went pale. “I… I sent him to lunch. He was coming right back.”
“Did he know you were going to be standing unguarded outside?”
“No. He thought I would be in the office talking to my mom, but we got into an argument. I couldn’t stand to be there with her anymore. I had to get out.”
Wesley took an unusual route to his place, just in case. He momentarily wished he’d cleaned up a bit, since this would be the first time she was going to see it, but this was hardly the time for worrying about frivolous things like that. “It might be nothing,” he said, but it didn’t seem to be comforting her at all. “We’re always overcautious when something like this happens. I just didn’t want to trust you with anyone else.”
Lauren was quiet for a moment, and then she took a verbal swipe at him. “Couldn’t stand to risk your ‘bit of fun,’ could you? I thought I was all used up, so why bother?”
“What?” he shot back.
“We weren’t that serious, I thought. What was it you called me? A gamble you lost?” Her voice was cold, but her eyes were tearing up.
He wasn’t used to hearing so much venom from her, but he supposed he deserved at least a little of it. What he’d said the last time they spoke over the phone had been harsh, but he’d been so hurt. He’d wanted to minimize what they had, which he had no doubt was the right thing to do at the time. He was less certain about it now. But admitting he’d lost something huge, that they really did have something special together, and she’d gone and betrayed him anyway… The thought of that was almost too much to bear. So, he minimized it. If what he’d lost was just a bit of fun, he could accept he’d made a stupid mistake and move on.
The trouble was, the girl in question was close to bursting into tears in his car, and Wesley couldn’t stand to see her hurting. He muttered, “You have to know I didn’t really mean that.”
“Well, I don’t. I guess I just trusted you too much.” She blinked her tears away and clenched her fists. She deserved to get even, but now was hardly the time.
“Listen, Lauren,” Wesley said, pulling into his parking garage. “You’re right. After today, you can yell at me, blame me, distrust me all you want. But for now, I need you to believe me and trust me to protect you. I will never let anyone hurt you, whether we’re dating or not. You’re a beautiful person, and I want you to stick around on this planet for as long as possible. okay? We’re here.” He parked, and stepped out of his car before opening her door for her.
“You live in a parking garage?” She arched an eyebrow at him and gave him a quick smile.
The fact that she was smiling at all gave Wesley some hope that he hadn’t completely lost her trust. They could still be friends at least, even if it was a strained friendship. He led her to the elevator, and they rode it to his apartment. He felt awkward as hell, knowing how much nicer her place was than his. The halls were grungy by comparison, and they had a musty smell that he’d gotten used to over the years, though he was still aware it was there.
He unlocked and opened his front door for her. “Welcome to my palace,” he said, gesturing for her to go inside.
The place was tiny with a mini-kitchen, a small living area, and two bedrooms about the size of closets. As apartments in New York went, it wasn’t half bad, but compared to Lauren’s place it was a dump. His insecurities about being in a lower class than she was began to rise to the surface, but he managed to ignore them.
She sat at his kitchen table just as Jon came out of the bathroom, dressed and toweling his hair dry from a recent shower.
“Who’s this?” Jon asked.
“This,” Wesley gestured to Lauren, “is my charge. Or she was, anyway. She’s going to stay here until the danger to her blows over.”
Jon’s eyebrows shot up. “You brought her here? Should I leave? Like, did anyone follow you or anything?”
“Not that I saw.” Wesley sat on his thrifted couch, which was only feet from his tiny dining table. “It’s related to her mother, but I want her hidden in case someone tries to grab her for extra security.”
“Well, mi casa, su casa ,” Jon said. “I’m heading out in a bit anyway.” He grabbed a snack from the kitchen and sat across from Lauren to eat it. “So, your mom’s a big deal, huh?”
“I guess.” Lauren let her head drop into her arms that were folded on the table. She was clearly miserable.
Wesley thought about how he could possibly ease her burden. “These things usually end up being nothing,” he said. “We always act like they’re something because we’d hate ourselves the one time it was something if we dismissed it. It’s just overcaution.”
“It seemed like something a little more than overcaution when you picked me up,” she mumbled from inside her arms.
Wesley clenched his jaw. “That’s just because I… I overreacted because… I mean you’re you, and I…” He always stopped short of telling her the truth, which was that she had quickly become one of the most important people in his life. If there was even a hint that she might be in danger, Wesley was going to run to her. He would run into an inferno for her at this point. But he couldn’t come right out and say it. That would be admitting to something he wasn’t ready to admit to just yet.
Lauren lifted her head, and Wesley noticed that she’d been hiding tears. “Is she going to be okay? My mom? Are they going to hurt her? I can’t…” Her voice caught and she buried her head again.
Jon glanced up at Wesley, apparently unable to deal with the mess of a woman sitting in front of him. “Well, I hope everything turns out all right,” he said, standing before he had even finished his snack. “I’m heading out.” He nodded and winked at Wesley, indicating he knew a little privacy for his roommate would go a long way. “You kids behave while I’m away.”
After he was gone, Wesley sat in his place and reached out a hand to Lauren. “You don’t have to worry,” he said. “Nothing’s happened. Everything is going to be fine.”
“You don’t know that,” Lauren said.
“I believe it, though.”
She lifted her head again. “Like that counts for anything.”
“It’s got to count for something, doesn’t it?” He paused, unsure of his own words but not wanting to give her reason to doubt. “It has to.”
After a minute of silence, Wesley started fidgeting with his tablecloth. There had to be something he could do to ease her mind while she waited out the danger.
“I know,” he said. “Let’s watch a movie. I mean, I don’t have your favorites here, but I’ve got TV. Surely there’s something available that will take your mind off things. Come on.” He stood and offered his hand. “Let’s sit together and try to relax.”
He brought her to the couch and sat beside her with a remote control in hand. He couldn’t resist putting an arm around her shoulders, and she leaned in to him. Apparently, she needed support more than she was angry at him right now. His fingers stroked the bare skin of her arm, and it felt indescribably good just to touch her again. He turned on the screen and started scrolling through options. Before either one of them settled on anything, Wesley murmured, “I’m so sorry.”
“Why?” She turned to scrutinize him. “What for?”
One long, deep breath later, and he was ready to say what had been on his mind for days. “I pretended it meant nothing — us, you know — but that was the furthest thing from the truth. I was just hurt and trying to protect myself. That’s not an excuse, just so we’re clear.” He tugged her closer, and to his delight, she rested her head on is shoulder. “It was stupid, and I regret it. I’m so sorry I hurt you.”
All the tears Lauren had been swallowing broke the surface suddenly, and she let loose. He felt terrible. He’d been trying to comfort her. When she got hold of herself again, she spoke. “I’m sorry. I’ve just been stressed. That meant a lot. It really did. I mean, thank you for saying that.”
“It’s the truth, princess.” He wanted to kiss her, but he resisted the urge. It wouldn’t be appropriate right now, when she was vulnerable. If he was going to try to win her back, he would do it when she was in a better place. He gave her a quick hug and planted a quick kiss on the top of her head. Then he turned on the TV and started looking through what was available to watch.
One of the thumbnails started to play, and he could see it was live.
“What’s that?” Lauren asked him.
“Just the news,” he said.
But Lauren leaned in and pointed. “That’s my mom! That’s a picture of my mom!”
She was right. Wesley opened the window so they could see what was going on. It was a live report of a recent development in their own city. Senator Anne Bartlett had been taken, right outside her office. There had been a gap in security between her office and vehicle, and in that seconds-long moment of vulnerability, she’d been snatched off the street.
Wesley was in shock. How had this happened? It was the middle of the afternoon, and Anne Bartlett was well guarded. But no one had thought any of the extremists would be so bold as to drive up and take her right outside her office in broad daylight.
As he sat with his mouth hanging open, Lauren shook him and shouted, “Do something! We have to do something!”